"Hasn't Rissberg Group's Civil Cooperative Organization been clamoring to send their uncontrollable war beasts to the battlefield?"
"Send them all to Kaer Morhen. Let our freaks warm up."
-----------------------------------
"Once the long-ears are dealt with, it'll be the freaks' turn."
Rumble~
Lightning flashed and thunder rolled, and the torrential rain soaked the long-robed man, as if crimson blood were seeping through.
And that long-robed man was looking at him!
"Allen… Allen…"
The call, from far to near, suddenly awakened the Witcher.
He blinked, realizing that he was no longer in the rain-soaked castle, but in front of the gray, misty mountains, staring up at Mary with her arms crossed, full of disapproval.
Allen froze for a moment before realizing what had happened.
But he didn't immediately respond to Mary. With a thought, he quickly opened his Witcher's Journal.
On the character panel, a new talent had appeared: "Unstable Prophetic Power," flickering.
[Name: Unstable Prophetic Power]
…
[Passive Effect: While relaxed, you may occasionally catch fragments of the future—fleeting glimpses of crises related to yourself.]
[Note: Be aware! Prophecy is both a talent and a curse!]
"So just now… I triggered Unstable Prophetic Power while walking?" Allen looked confused.
Could prophecy really be triggered so easily?
He remembered in the original story, Ciri's visions only occurred in sleep at night, or guided by Geralt's other close companion, Triss Merigold.
Even the masters of prophecy in the Northern Continent had to prepare for a long time to receive even a vague insight.
Though these were only fragments, half-static phrases, still, who prophesied just by walking around?
"But that man…" Allen frowned slightly, recalling the two figures in the rain-soaked castle from the prophecy. "His name seems to be Sunny, now ruler of Ban Ard, Vesemir's reluctant nemesis…"
The other person Allen did not recognize, but Sunny—he had encountered him once while passing through Ban Ard after leaving Kaer Morhen.
Though it had been at night, Allen remembered his face clearly.
"War beasts… long-ears… freaks…" the Witcher murmured, his expression growing serious.
"Allen, what are you muttering?" Mary's face drew closer, almost filling his entire field of view.
"Sorry, I got distracted," Allen took a deep breath to calm himself. "Where were you just now?"
Mary recalled the serious matter, speaking indignantly: "Allen, I finally got Tissaia de Vries to agree, but the mentor suddenly refused."
"She wouldn't let me replace Philippa Eilhart, tried to pin me down at Kaer Morhen…"
"So what do you want me to do?" Allen asked, expressionless.
Mary, caught, sheepishly tilted her head and scratched it. "Can you persuade Lady Vera to let me go? You're her favorite student; only you can convince her."
When Sol mutated for the second time, Mary had been sent away and was not in the research room on the first floor of Kaer Morhen.
Those present—Vesemir, Danthe, Aristo, Jerome Moreau, and Ida Emean—had kept silent, revealing not a word.
So, in the entire fortress of Kaer, the Chief Sorcerer of the Witcher Corps, despite his high position, was one of the few who did not know Allen's background.
"You actually think I can persuade Lady Vera?" Allen stared at Mary in disbelief. "Why would you think that?"
"She's the Scarlet Red Fox, legendary alchemist, de facto Chief Sorcerer of Kaer Morhen, and your mentor…"
"And I… I'm just a Witcher of the School of the Wolf…"
"But isn't it said in the school that you'll become the Grandmaster of the Wolf School?" Mary pressed. "She's the Chief Sorcerer of the Wolf School, you're the Grandmaster—her subordinate's leader should listen to you!"
Mary's logic was clear, but obviously flawed.
Allen sighed helplessly. "Leaving aside the fact that I'm not yet the Grandmaster, even if one day I do become one…"
"Let me ask you, Mary…"
"Sol is the current Grandmaster. When has Lady Vera ever listened to the Chief Sorcerer?"
Mary was stumped, unable to reply.
Everyone knew the relationship between Sol and the mentor.
But in reality, the mentor had always held the dominant position!
Mary had… never actually seen the mentor follow the Grandmaster. Instead, Sol had always accommodated the temperamental, moody, unpredictable mentor…
"So… so… what should I do?" Mary looked like she might cry. "A few days ago, after seeing my ability, you clearly promised me…"
"I didn't promise!" Allen immediately denied. "I just didn't refuse."
"What's the difference?" Mary pouted in dissatisfaction.
Allen patiently explained: "The difference is, once you have the approval of Tissaia de Vries and Lady Vera, then I can accept you joining me to rescue Hen Gedymdeith. But…"
"The premise is that you first get their consent. Only then does my consent matter."
"One gives the assignment, the other is your guardian… um… mentor. I cannot bypass them…"
"Allen…" Mary's voice trailed as she clutched his right hand, suddenly whining cutely. "Tissaia de Vries has agreed, only the mentor refuses…"
Allen, troubled, could only nod reluctantly. "Fine. I'll speak with Lady Vera…"
Mary immediately beamed. "I knew you were the best!"
Allen felt the soft touch on his forearm and twitched his lips. "But let me make it clear beforehand."
"I'm just speaking on your behalf. I can't guarantee that Lady Vera will actually agree."
"Of course! Of course!" Mary didn't mind Allen's excuse.
Though she didn't yet know the relationship between Allen and Vera, from all the past examples she had witnessed, Vera had never once refused Allen's requests—not once.
It was as solid as it could get!
Yet she didn't notice the flash of pity in the eyes of her male companion as she cheered.
Vera, of course, wouldn't agree—because the real culprit was right in front of her… Allen continued walking without showing any expression.
A few days ago, Mary's display had been truly astonishing.
Having absorbed the spirit of Ronny Dickinson, an aeromancer, she had become almost the envoy of thunder, the master of the gale.
The lakeside and scorched forest bore witness to the transformation of the young sorceress, who had previously only managed defensive spells and simple hail magic.
Although Mary had not yet reached the level of the future Margarita Laux-Antille, in terms of magical strength, she was certainly no weaker than Vilgefortz when he had released the Alzu Thunder Summoning just a few months ago.
Yes!
The master-level spell Alzu Thunder Summoning, which even Yennefer and Triss had struggled to cast together in the original story, Mary could now release smoothly.
In terms of magical skill, Mary could easily substitute for Philippa Eilhart, and even surpass her in some ways.
However…
Allen could not possibly agree to let her join. This had nothing to do with magical strength.
The mission to rescue Hen Gedymdeith had been assigned specifically to Allen; Mary had no part in it.
Such a dangerous task did not require dragging her into it.
Moreover, the enhancement Mary gained from Ronny Dickinson's aeromancer spirit only improved her aeromancy base and magical strength. Sneaking into Ban Ard would have little effect, far less than Philippa Eilhart's versatile transfiguration and illusion magic.
By any measure, Philippa Eilhart remained the best candidate.
Having no excuse to refuse, Allen, after parting from Mary, immediately sought out Vera.
Vera naturally agreed, but told Allen to be patient—Tissaia de Vries would surely refuse Mary.
The rescue of Hen Gedymdeith was dangerous and important; it was no trivial matter.
Yet, unexpectedly, Tissaia de Vries actually agreed.
Thinking of this, Allen furrowed his brow, pondering: "Has the relationship between Philippa Eilhart and Tissaia de Vries really deteriorated to the point that Tissaia is taking concrete action to find a substitute?"
"This is not good news…"
Lost in thought, Allen followed Mary to a clearing not far from Kaer Morhen.
The cleared ground was neatly prepared, with several simple ritual circles drawn in chalk. From a distance, the arrangement of the ritual looked like a closed eye.
At the pupil's position, a few red and white orb-like gemstones were scattered haphazardly.
"I've arranged everything according to the diagrams and materials you provided," Mary said, stepping in front of the ritual circle. "Honestly, I've never seen a ritual with such a… unique style before."
"What's so unique about it?" Allen bent down, inspecting the ritual circle, asking with keen interest.
"How should I put it?" Mary furrowed her delicate brows and asked uncertainly. "A bit rough?"
"Even the simplest rituals in ritualology require attention to technique and materials. It's common for a ritual setup to take most of a day," Allen explained.
"But the ritual you gave me… the instructions are vague and simplified. The materials are extremely common, and even the most precise parts—like the curves of the ritual circles or the angles where they intersect—have huge tolerances and margins."
"The first time I set it up, it took me less than ten minutes, and that's only because I wasn't familiar with it."
"Once I'm practiced, I can set it up in three minutes."
"Allen, did you come up with this ritual array yourself?"
"No," Allen shook his head. "I obtained it by accident, and this is my first time trying it."
Rituals weren't something you could claim like a potion or sword-oil formula—most existing rituals had been passed down by some deity, whether good or evil, human or elven.
However, the array Allen had asked Mary to prepare in advance was truly special.
"No problem. Very precise."
Allen stood and gave Mary a thumbs-up, then sat cross-legged at the "lower eyelid" of the ritual array.
"Eyes behold the true moon."
A murmured chant, somewhere between a prayer and a supplication, sounded next to the ritual circle.
Almost the instant the whispering ceased, at the "pupil" of the ritual array, a cone-shaped pedestal, knee-high, trembled into being.
At the center of the pedestal, a "ruby" suddenly merged with the surrounding white spheres, stretching flat toward the ritualist like a thin, circular mirror.
"A big stone?!!"
Mary bent over in curiosity and exclaimed.
Inside that thin, pale-red "ruby" mirror appeared a tall rock golem, pounding another rock golem on the head with its fists.
"A thousand-mile mirror?!!" Mary shouted again in astonishment.
Allen looked at the image in the mirror and corrected her: "Not a thousand-mile mirror. It's the Eye of True Knowledge…"
[Name: Ritual Eye Cultivation]
[Type: Magical Ritual]
[Requirement: Ritualology LV1]
[Element: Flesh and Blood]
[Materials: Chalk 2, Eyeball 3, Enchanting Dust 1]
[Function: Use the power of the ritual to refine eyeballs and obtain a Ritual Eye.]
[Note: The Ritual Eye is a flesh-and-blood element and a fundamental material for rituals. You've really found a treasure.]
-----------------------------------
[Name: Flesh Synchronization]
[Type: Magical Ritual]
[Requirement: Ritualology LV1]
[Element: Flesh and Blood]
[Materials: Chalk 2, Ritual Eye n, Flesh and Blood Material 1, Gem Shard 1]
[Function:
1. Synchronize Flesh: Consumes Ritual Eyes to synchronize flesh and blood materials through a specific ritual. Different parts of flesh and blood materials have different properties.
2. Long-Distance Synchronization: Consumes Ritual Eyes to link and manipulate processed flesh and blood materials at a distance corresponding to the number of Ritual Eyes used.]
[Note: Don't know what this ritual does? Here's a little secret: using synchronized flesh as ritual material can compensate for and block most negative effects in rituals. Thinking of some ritual you abandoned long ago? Kid, you really hit the jackpot!]
-----------------------------------
[Name: Eye of True Knowledge]
[Type: Magical Ritual]
[Requirement: Ritualology LV1]
[Element: Flesh and Blood]
[Materials: Chalk 2, Ritual Eye 3, Soil 1]
[Function: Uses the power of the ritual to refine Ritual Eyes and obtain the Eye of True Knowledge. Through this ritual, one Eye of True Knowledge can secretly (without magical or mental fluctuations) observe the perspective of another Eye of True Knowledge.]
[Note: The eye is open! It's really open!]
-----------------------------------
These were the three closely related rituals that had been obtained a few days ago from the summoning ritual's treasure chest.
The ritual Mary had set up was actually the Flesh Synchronization ritual.
The Eye of True Knowledge and the Ritual Eyes were spherical, appearing as ruby-like and white-crystal-like spheres.
Yes.
Both the Eye of True Knowledge and the Ritual Eyes were materials used to make other ritual components.
Allen had simply summarized the three rituals under the name "Eye of True Knowledge" for convenience, since it was more intuitive.
The "Thousand-Mile Mirror" could also be considered a ritual, but it was expensive, cumbersome, and had very strict requirements for the ritualist.
The advantage of the Eye of True Knowledge ritual group was that it broke a difficult and complicated ritual into three stages…
Ritual Eye → Eye of True Knowledge → Flesh Synchronization.
This reduced both the difficulty and the quality requirements for the materials. All three rituals were LV1, the simplest level, and all the materials were very common.
Though simple, the three rituals were remarkably refined.
Allen thought this might represent the pinnacle of ritualology—a systematic magic of many interlinked rituals forming a coherent framework.
Just as he was about to explain the three rituals to Mary properly, he suddenly sensed something and lifted his gaze.
In the sky, a crystalline bird descended gracefully.
........
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